Boy, Mother Seriously Injured In Cicero Fire; 2 Homes Damaged

CHICAGO (CBS) — Two people were seriously injured early Tuesday, when two homes caught fire.

The fire started around 2:30 a.m. at a house in the 5100 block of West 29th Street, according to the Cicero Fire Department. The flames spread to a neighboring home due to windy conditions.

Police officers were first to arrive on the scene. They broke down the front door of the home where the fire started, found an 11-year-old boy by the front door, and pulled him out of the building, according to Cicero Fire Chief Dominick Buscemi.

“It was great work on PD’s part. They were first on the scene,” he said.

Buscemi said firefighters had some difficulty getting other people out of the two homes, because of the time.

“You know, at 2:30 in the morning, when everybody’s sleeping, it’s hard to get people out of the building, you know? They wake up, they’re disorientated, things like that. So it’s always hard to get people out of the building at 2:30 in the morning,” Buscemi said.

Paramedics took the boy and his mother to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood to be treated for smoke inhalation. Both were in serious condition, according to Buscemi.

The American Red Cross also responded to the scene to help people affected by the fire, Between 15 and 20 people were forced out of their homes due to the fire.